The Small Branch

     I am doing a great study on the Psalms of Ascent this summer.  Today, we started looking at Psalm 131:        "O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;       Nor do I involve myself in great matters,       Or in things too difficult for me.       Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;       Like a weaned child rests against his mother,       My soul is like a weaned child within me.       O Israel, hope in the LORD       From this time forth and forever." David gives us a great picture of how our souls need to rest in the Lord.  It makes me think about a toddler going to sleep on his daddy's shoulder.  I am told that, as a toddler, I fought sleep like crazy.  Sometimes, I think I still do in this picture of David's.  I should be just resting against my Father's strong shoulder, but instead, I ...

     I was thinking yesterday morning (shocker, I know!) about ways to encourage my children in their faith.  One thing that is a very hard balance for all Christians is works.  We know, or at least I hope we know, that we are saved by grace - not by anything we have done or could ever do, but only because of what Jesus has done.  We are saved because we acknowledge that He is King and Lord and we are His subjects.  The fine line comes when we realize that we need to act like it.  Acting like His subjects doesn't mean that we are living under the Law, but sometimes, we get to going through the motions and that's what it feels like.  We feel like we are trying to be "good enough."  On the other hand, we know that our "fruit" shows our faith.  We know that we are supposed to be producing fruit and that we can only produce fruit through Jesus Christ working in our lives.  So I thought, maybe we need to do a "fruit check" periodica...

Just finished reading Mindset  by Carol Dweck.  If you haven't read it, I really recommend it, especially if, like me, you really struggle with the insecurity a fixed mindset can cause.  The book makes me think a lot about growth and how to foster that in my children and my students.  As a teacher, I really despise having to use grades and test scores.  These "products" do so much to undermine what I hope to teach my students - the value of learning and growth.  Part of our school mission statement talks about helping students grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.  Am I really teaching lifelong growing if I emphasize grades?  test scores?  There is a huge difference between students who are focused on learning and students who are focused on grades.  Students focused on grades are focused on an end result that they think will happen right now.  But life is a journey - we grow in Christ, we let Him work in us, in every aspect...

     I am reading a great book called Mindset  by Carol Dweck.  The book addresses having a growth mindset (believing we can grow and change) versus having a fixed mindset (believing we are only so smart, talented, etc. and can't change that).  I highly recommend it.      One thing that I was really convicted about, though, is how much I have a fixed mindset.  I really feel judged by people and I often throw in the towel when things get hard because I feel like I just can't do it.  But that isn't what God has told us:   "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)  If we are new, that means He has changed us, we have grown and continue to grow in Him.   "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," (Romans 12:2a)  If we are being transformed by Him, by renewing our minds in ...